As we come to the end of the church year, it is appropriate that we look back on the year that has passed with thanksgiving. In a season that has certainly presented challenges in our world and our culture, the Lord has nevertheless poured out blessings on us—bringing new faces, new lives, and new opportunities…
“Justice” is a term that we often hear in our contemporary cultural moment. On social media posts, in high profile court cases, and even in the streets, our nation has been in turmoil over questions of justice. But who determines the standard for justice? Is justice simply what benefits my tribe or interest group? Or…
“Justice” is a term that we often hear in our contemporary cultural moment. On social media posts, in high profile court cases, and even in the streets, our nation has been in turmoil over questions of justice. But who determines the standard for justice? Is justice simply what benefits my tribe or interest group? Or…
Dr. John Currie (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is Dean of Pastoral Theology, Professor of Pastoral Theology, and Director of the D.Min Program at Westminster Theological Seminary. Dr. Currie’s academic interests include expository preaching and pastoral leadership. Dr. Currie has extensive pastoral experience and is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Before serving at…
Today marks the 504th anniversary of Martin Luther’s launching of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Western church was coming to the end of a long period of forgetfulness, corruption, and turmoil. Similarly, the book of Lamentations presents a picture of a people trusting in their own righteousness—…
As Pastor Grant put it last week, the book of Lamentations calls us to remember, repent, and return to the Lord. This week’s sermon text focuses on that middle term—repentance—and specifically highlights the failures of the religious
leaders in Judah: “Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions”; “This was for the sins of…
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
—Psalm 77:11
Much of this morning’s service centers around memory—remembering the things that God has done for us, and asking the Lord to remember us in our distress. The service begins with the hymn O God, Our Help In Ages…
Zephaniah’s prophecy opens with a declaration that the Lord “will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth” (Zephaniah 1:2) but ends with a gentle promise that He will bring His people in, gathering the outcasts together (Zephaniah 3:19). The surprisingly hopeful ending of the book is reflected in many of the elements…
How appropriate that on the morning of our fall hymn sing we come to Zephaniah 3 in our sermon series. In it, the prophet commands us to sing (“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion”) and gives us a picture of God Himself singing to us (“He will exult over you with loud singing”). Nearly every…
Most scholars agree that Psalm 76, the psalm we’ve been singing all through the month of September, is intended to describe the miraculous defeat of Sennacherib, whose army had laid siege to Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah (see 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37). The angel of the Lord decimated the Assyrian forces in…